Court awards $15,000 in bullying lawsuit against District 303

St. Charles parent awarded $15K in settlement with District 303 over bullying lawsuit

A parent who alleged in a suit filed last year that St. Charles School District 303 staff failed to prevent her son from being bullied at school was awarded $15,000 in a settlement with the district, court records show.

The settlement amount, approved by the Kane County Circuit Court in June, accounts for damages for personal injuries to the woman's son when the district allegedly failed to keep another boy from striking him and causing him to fall and injure himself on Oct. 16, 2012. According to court documents, the plaintiffs' incurred $13,471 in medical and hospital expenses related to the incident.

The district, a child and his parents were listed as defendants in the original complaint filed last October.

Seth Chapman, assistant superintendent of business services for the district, said the school board did not have to vote on the settlement agreement because an insurance company, Liberty Mutual, was paying the award, not the district.

"There's just no action required on our part," Chapman said, adding that if the amount had been much larger the settlement probably would have been brought to the board level.

As a result of the settlement, the case against the District was dismissed July 1 with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs cannot file an additional complaint against the district on the same issue. Still, the district denies the allegations made in the original complaint according to court documents.

St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 recently filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former student who alleges the district did nothing to stop fellow drill team members from repeatedly bullying her.

The lawsuit alleged that the district "knew of the bullying acts" and had determined that "the best way to prevent further bullying acts" was to ensure the two children were "separated at all times while they were on school property," but that the district failed to do so.

A portion of the money awarded to the plaintiffs has been placed in a restricted trust account and may be withdrawn for the boy's medical needs or other uses with court approval until 2023, when the boy turns 18, court documents show.

"The settlement which has been offered is fair and the acceptance of it is in (the plaintiffs) best interest," the plaintiffs' attorney wrote in an affidavit.